October 1st is Ask an Archivist Day

This is such a great idea and a wonderful opportunity for genealogists and historians! 

So if you have a question you want to ask an Archivist just follow any (or all) of these Twitter accounts, wait for 11 a.m and ask your question.

@DocsTeach
@CongressArchive
@NARAMediaLabs
@archivespres
@boston_archives

While you're on your Twitter page, why not also connect with me @LorineMS (Olive Tree Genealogy) I'd love to see you there!


 

Did you miss National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair?

Did you miss National Archives (NARA) first virtual Genealogy Fair last week? Not to worry as all the sessions are available online on Ustream.
 
Handouts

• Handouts for September 3 Sessions
  
• Handouts for September 4 Sessions

Tuesday, September 3

Time	#	Lecture Title	Presenter
10AM	1	Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives	John Deeben National Archives at Washington, DC
11AM	2	Introduction to Genealogy: Civilian	Rebecca K. Sharp National Archives at Washington, DC
12PM	3	Alien Files (A-Files)	Elizabeth Burnes National Archives at Kansas City, MO
1PM	4	Native American Records	Michael Wright National Archives at Fort Worth, TX
2PM	5	National Archives Online Resources for Genealogy	Nancy Wing National Archives at Washington, DC
3PM	6	Citizenship Matters: Bureau of Naturalization Files at the National Archives	Zack Wilske U.S. Immigration & Citizenship Services, Washington, DC

Wednesday, September 4

Time	#	Lecture Title	Presenter
10AM	7	Genealogy and the Freedman’s Bank: Records of the Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company	Damani Davis National Archives at Washington, DC
11AM	8	Military and Civilian Personnel Records:  The National Archives at St. Louis	Ashley Mattingly & Theresa Fitzgerald National Archives at St. Louis, MO
12PM	9	Union Civil War Pension Files	Claire Kluskens National Archives at Washington, DC
1PM	10	Federal Penitentiary Records	Jake Ersland National Archives at Kansas City, MO
2PM	11	Finding U.S. Colored Troops at the National Archives	Trevor Plante National Archives at Washington, DC
3PM	12	Genealogy Through Navy Deck Logs	Mark Mollan National Archives at Washington, DC
4PM	13	Oh, The Stories They Tell: Chinese Exclusion Acts Case Files at the National Archives & Records	Susan Karren National Archives at Seattle, WA

First Time Ever National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

The National Archives is holding its first-ever virtual Genealogy Fair on September 3 and 4 (2013) 10 a.m.–4 p.m. EST

The Fair will be streamed online through Ustream. It's free, and there's no reservations or passwords. You can ask questions through the chat function, or  tweet your questions to @usnatarchives #genfair2013.

Our experts from the National Archives will be discussing Native American and African American history, immigration, Civil War pensions, U.S. Colored Troops, and Navy Deck logs.

We hope to "see" you there: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/

Recorded sessions will be available online after the event.

Consult with a National Archives conservator on how to preserve your family treasures!

Image of letters from Pearl Harbor
via Preservation Programs of the U.S. National Archives.

NARA's upcoming preservation fair “Preservation EXPOsed!” will take place on March 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the McGowan Theater and lobby at the National Archives in Washington, DC.

Bring in a document, book, photo, artifact, or motion picture film for a consultation with a conservator on how to preserve it. Appointments are required for individual consultations; contact Preservation@NARA.gov or Preservation Programs Officer Allison Olson at 301-837-0678 to schedule one.

The fair is free and open to the public! Enter at the Special Events Entrance on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 9th Street NW.

Naturalization Records, the often overlooked way to find a Ships Passenger List

We all want to know where our ancestors came from. We want to know when they arrived in North America and when they became citizens. Naturalization and immigration records are the answer. Sometimes naturalization records for an ancestor are the only way to discover the family origins and that all-important ships passenger list.


Naturalization records can help you find the date of immigration, ship's passenger list, port of arrival, and the place of birth for your ancestor. Some naturalization records include occupations, names and ages of minor children, names and birth dates and places of spouses --- and more!

Footnote.com has searchable Naturalization Records from NARA (National Archives).

There is a wealth of genealogical information just waiting for you in your search for an ancestor. The following examples of various American Naturalization Documents shows you what type of information you might find. You can view these actual American Naturalization Record Documents at NaturalizationRecords.com website

* 1795 Petition for Naturalization for Patrick Ryan in Pennsylvania
* 1906 Petition for Naturalization for Christopher Alt in Baltimore Maryland. Gives occupation, date and place of birth, date of immigration, port of departure and port of arrival, names of children plus dates and locations of births
* 1912 Petition for Naturalization for Jacob Imfang of Pittsburg Pennsylvania. Gives occupation, date and place of birth, date of immigration, port of departure and port of arrival, name of spouse, names of children plus dates and locations of births
* 1880 Naturalization Certificate includes name, age, country of origin
* 1891 Naturalization Certificate with name, date, country of origin
* 1922 Naturalization Certificate with name, age, physical description, wife's name, children's names and ages, country of origin
* 1925 Naturalization Certificate with name, age, physical description, wife's name, children's names and ages, current address, country of origin
* 1941 Naturalization Certificate with photo, name, age, physical description, marital status, country of origin, current address
* 1832 Declaration of Intent includes name, birthplace, age, settlement location
* 1846 Declaration of Intent for Daniel Stinger. Provides name of ancestor, current residence, age, country of origin,
* 1895 Declaration of Intent for Thomas Jones. Gives name, age, occupation, place and date of birth, physical description, current residence, name of ship sailed on, date of immigration, port of departure, port of arrival, last residence, marital status,
* 1937 Declaration of Intent for Pinchos aka Phillip Goldstein. Includes ancestor name, residence, occupation, physical description, race, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, name of spouse, place and date of marriage, Date and place of spouse's birth, year and port of immigration of spouse, current residence of spouse, number and names of children, location and dates of birth of children, year of immigration of ancestor, name of ship sailed on, port of departure, port of arrival, previous residence, actual name at immigration, and photograph

Finding English ancestors in the National Archives UK

I've been enjoying searching the National Archives website The National Archives is the official archive of the UK Government and they hold over 10 million records.

I've discovered that you can search the archives, then order records of interest if an ancestor's name appears. For example I searched for my King and Dawson ancestors who lived in Suffolk England in the late 1700s, early 1800s. Lo and behold I found 6 very interesting records, including a Bastardy maintenance order served on my 4th great grandfather James King in 1792. The order was for the maintance of a child of Hannah Blandon, single woman - who later married James and became my 4th great grandmother.

Depending on the record you find, you can order it online through the National Archives or you order it from whatever archives has it in their possession. In my case the Bastardy order is housed in the Ipswich Record office, and a clickable link was provided to their website. I wrote to the email address provided and asked for the records. It took several days but I received a reply quoting me a cost (very reasonable) and two forms to fill out and mail back.

I spent several hours last week searching this amazing resource and plan to go back tonight to search for more English ancestors.

National Archives to Open Official Personnel Files of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

The National Archives will open more than 35,000 official personnel files of men and women who served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was the U.S. wartime intelligence agency during World War II.

The files cover civilian and military personnel who served and were later transferred, discharged, reassigned, or died while in service prior to 1947.

The 750,000 pages include initial applications to join the OSS; preliminary training and subsequent work assignments; pay, leave and travel documents; evaluations, basic medical information; and awards, decorations and discharge papers. Occasionally, photographs are included in the application file. Senior officials, officers and men engaged in special combat actions, such as Detachment 101, Jedburghs, X-2, espionage, and major intelligence missions may have citations summarizing those efforts in the files.

Some of the notables who were in the OSS include former CIA directors Allen Dulles and William Casey, famed chef Julia Child, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, Arab/Israeli peace negotiator and civil rights advocate Ralph Bunche, and Hollywood actor Sterling Hayden

What a treasure trove this will be for genealogists! And now you can start by searching for individuals who served in the OSS online in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) listing for the OSS Personnel Files, ARC ID: 1593270.

United Kingdom Nonconformist birth, marriage and death records online

Nonconformist birth, marriage and death records online

The National Archives (United Kingdom) collection of nonconformist birth, marriage and death records from 1567 went online 14 September 2007 for the first time.

A new partnership project between The National Archives and S&N Genealogy Supplies means that you can now access images of these records online. BMD Registers provides access to the non-parochial and nonconformist registers 1567-1840 held in RG 4 and RG 5.

Birth, marriage and death records are crucial tools for anyone researching their family history. Before 1837, when civil registration was introduced in England and Wales, church registers provided an important source of information on births, baptisms, marriages and burials.

The National Archives holds 5,000 registers of a huge variety of nonconformist congregations, including Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Protestant Dissenters (known as 'Dr Williams Library') and Independents. There are also registers from a small number of Roman Catholic communities. Basic searching is free of charge, but there is a fee for advanced searching and to download images.

For free United Kingdom genealogy records online vist AllEnglishRecords.com